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UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS 

Agricultural  Experiment  Station 


BULLETIN  NO.  157 


PEATY  SWAMP  LANDS;  SAND  AND 
"ALKALI"  SOILS 


BY  CYRIL,  G.  HOPKINS,  J.  E.  READHIMER, 

AND  o.  s.  FISHER 


URBANA,  ILLINOIS,  JULY,  1912 


SUMMARY  OF  BULLETIN  No.  157 

1.  There  are  many  thousand  acres  of  peaty  swamp  land  in  northern  Illinois, 
much  of  which  produces  almost  no  crops  because  the  soil  is  deficient  in  the 
element  potassium,  altho  it  is  rich  in  all  other  elements  of  plant  food. 

Page  95. 

2.  On  the  University  of  Illinois  soil  experiment  field  near  Tampico  (White- 
side  county),  on  peaty  swamp  soil,  the  addition  of  potassium  produced  yields 
of  41  to  55  bushels  of  corn  as  an  average  of  the  years   1902,   1903  and  1904, 
while,  with  no  potassium  applied,  no  ear  corn  was  produced.  Page  97. 

3.  On  the  University  of  Illinois  soil  experiment  field  near  Momence  (Kan- 
kakee  county),  on  peaty  swamp  soil,  potassium  produced  an  average  of  44.6 
bushels  of  corn  for  9  years,  while  without  potassium  the  average  yield  was 
only  3.6  bushels.  Page  100. 

4.  Some  kinds  of  peaty  swamp  soil  will  improve  with  the  right  kind  of 
cultivation,  and  finally  become  very  productive  soils  which  will  not  require  the 
continued  use  of   potassium,   while   other  kinds   will  probably   always   require 
potassium  to  be  applied.  Page  I2J. 

5.  Some  kinds  of  peaty  swamp  soils  after  years  of  cultivation  are  found  to 
resemble  sand  ridge  soil,  which  is  most  deficient  in  the  element  nitrogen,  which 
can  be  obtained  from  the  air  at  very  slight  cost  by  means  of  suitable  legumin- 
ous crops.  Page  122. 

6.  Nitrogen  applied  to  the  University  of  Illinois  soil  experiment  field  near 
Green  Valley  (Tazewell  county),  on  sand  ridge  soil,  has  increased  the  value  of 
six  crops  from  $56.00  to  $129.00  per  acre.  Page  123. 

7.  Certain  kinds  of  farm  manure  produce  fairly  good  results  on  some  peaty 
swamp  soils,  but  commonly  it  is  better  farm   practice  to  use  the  manure  on 
other  kinds  of  soil  and  buy  potassium  for  the  peaty  swamp  soils.         Page  128. 

8.  There  is  no  more  profit  in  starving  plants  than  there  is  in  starving  ani- 
mals.   While  heavy  applications  of  potassium  must  sometimes  be  made  at  first, 
with  proper  management  only  light  applications  will  be  required  after  a  few 
years.  Page  129. 

9.  The  so-called      "alkali"  soils  of  Illinois,    which  are   also  being  investi- 
gated, are  not  the  same  as  peaty  swamp  soils.  Page  130. 


PEATY  SWAMP  LANDS;  SAND  AND 
"ALKALI"  SOILS 

BY  CYRIL,  G.  HOPKINS,  CHIEF  IN  AGRONOMY  AND  CHEMISTRY, 

J.  E.  READHIMER,  SUPERINTENDENT  OP  Son,  EXPERIMENT  FIELDS,  AND 

O.  S.  FISHER,  FIRST  ASSISTANT  IN  Son,  FERTILITY 

There  are  immense  areas  of  peaty  swamp  lands  in  the  northern 
and  nortlrcentral  parts  of  Illinois.  As  a  rule  these  soils  do  not 
grow  good  crops.  When  first  broken  they  sometimes  yield  one  or 
two  fair  crops  of  corn,  but  generally  the  third  crop  is  very  poor, 
and  afterwards  little  or  no  corn  is  produced.  Oats  do  somewhat 
better,  but  usually  the  yield  of  grain  is  very  unsatisfactory,  even 
when  a  fair  amount  of  straw  is  grown.  These  soils  are  usually 
very  black  and  very  rich  in  organic  matter,  and  they  are  frequently 
drained  at  great  expense  with  the  expectation  that  they  will  be 
very  productive  and  almost  inexhaustible,  but  not  infrequently 
they  yield  disappointment  and  financial  loss. 

These  peaty  swamp  soils  are  present  in  large  areas  in  Lee 
county,  in  southern  Whiteside  county,  in  Rock  Island  county,  in 
the  northeastern  part  of  Henry  county,  and  in  the  northwestern 
part  of  Bureau  county.  In  Kankakee  and  Iroquois  counties,  in 
northern  Mason  county,  and  southwestern  Tazewell  county,  large 
tracts  of  peaty  soil  are  found;  and  smaller  tracts  are  found  in  the 
counties  of  Winnebago,  Boone,  McHenry,  Lake,  DeKalb,  and 
Kane,  and  there  is  more  or  less  of  this  soil  in  several  other  north- 
ern counties,  such  as  Kendall,  Will,  LaSalle,  Grundy,  Livingston, 
etc.  Some  peaty  soil  has  been  found  in  northern  Ford  county, 
and  small  tracts  in  western  McLean  and  northern  Champaign 
counties.  This  soil  is  also  known  to  extend  into  northern  Indiana,* 
southern  Wisconsin,*  and  to  a  considerable  extent  into  Iowa. 

Of  the  counties  in  which  considerable  areas  of  peaty  swamp 
soils  are  known  to  exist,  Whiteside,  Bureau,  Kankakee,  Tazewell, 
Lake,  Winnebago,  Kane,  DuPage,  and  LaSalle  have  already  been 
surveyed  in  detail.  The  survey  has  been  started  in  Iroquois  and 
Mason,  and  will  be  completed  during  the  season  of  1912.  Boonej 
DeKalb,  and  Rock  Island  have  been  agreed  upon  and  will  prob- 
ably be  completed  during  the  season  of  1913. 

*The  experiment  stations  of  Indiana  and  Wisconsin  have  published  some 
results  of  investigations  relating  to  similar  soils  (See  page  117.) 

95 


96  BULLETIN  No.  157  [July, 

Commonly  the  peaty  soil  occupies  the  lower  lying  areas,  but 
sometimes  it  is  found  in  tablelands.  It  is  ahvays  on  land  which 
was  at  one  time  poorly  drained. 

The  peaty  soil  varies  from  almost  pure  brown  peat,  containing 
80  percent  or  more  of  combustible  material,  to  black  muck,  con- 
taining much  less  organic  matter.  In  some  places  these  soils  ex- 
tend continuously  over  tracts  of  considerable  size  (sometimes  over 
several  square  miles),  to  the  exclusion  of  other  types  of  soil;  but 
more  commonly  the  peaty  soils  occupy  irregularly  shaped  areas 
scattered  about  in  bodies  of  land  of  different  kinds.  Sandy  land 
is  frequently  found  adjoining  or  surrounding  the  tracts  of  peaty 
soil,  and  sand  is  the  most  common  subsoil  found  under  peaty 
swamp  soils,  altho  a  clay  subsoil  is  found  in  places,  and  sometimes 
the  peaty  soil  is  underlain,  at  a  depth  of  only  a  few  feet,  with 
limestone  rock.  Occasionally  the  peaty  soil  adjoins  ordinary  Illi- 
nois prairie  land. 

Peat  itself  consists  largely  of  partially  decayed  sphagnum  moss 
or  coarse  grass,  swamp  sedge,  flags,  etc.,  which  grew  in  the  water 
which  once  covered  these  areas.  In  growing,  the  moss,  grasses, 
etc.,  obtain  carbon  and  oxygen  from  the  carbon  dioxid  in  the  air, 
and  hydrogen  from  water,  being  similar  to  other  plants  in  this 
respect.  The  water  in  which  the  sphagnum  moss  and  grass  grows 
is  more  or  less  stagnant.  It  is  usually  seepage  or  surface-drainage 
water,  and  contains  sufficient  nitrogen,  phosphorus,  potassium,  and 
other  essential  elements  of  plant  food  to  meet  the  needs  of  the 
growing  vegetation.  Both  nitrogen  and  phosphorus  enter  into 
fairly  stable  organic  combinations  with  carbon,  hydrogen,  and 
oxygen,  and  when  the  vegetation  changes  to  peat,  and  even  when 
the  peat  partially  decays,  these  two  elements  (especially  the  nitro- 
gen) are  largely  retained  in  the  organic  matter.  The  potassium, 
however,  reverts  more  largely  to  the  soluble  form  and  it  is  finally 
lost  to  a  greater  or  less  extent  in  the  drainage  waters  flowing  from 
the  peat  bogs.  Probably  most  of  the  Illinois  beds  are  grass  peat, 
altho  there  is  some  moss  peat  in  the  state.  Indeed,  in  the  detail 
soil  survey  of  Lake  county  one  swamp  of  several  acres  was  found 
where  the  sphagnum  moss  is  still  growing  luxuriantly  over  a  bed 
of  moss  peat. 

Where  the  soil  consists  very  largely  of  decaying  peat  to  a  depth 
of  30  inches  or  more  it  is  called  deep  peat  (Soil  Type  No.  1401, 
Bulletin  123). 

As  shown  in  Bulletin  123,  deep  peat  contains  in  one  million 
pounds  of  surface  soil  about  35,000  pounds  of  nitrogen,  2000 
pounds  of  phosphorus,  and  2900  pounds  of  potassium.  This  shows 
in  the  surface  6^3  inches  of  an  acre  about  five  times  as  much  nitro- 
gen as  the  rich  black  clay  loam  prairie.  In  phosphorus  content 
these  two  soil  types  are  about  equal,  but  the  peat  contains  less 


1912]  PEATY  SWAMP  LANDS;    SAND  AND  ALKALI  SOILS  97 

than  one-tenth  as  much  potassium  as  the  black  clay  loam.  Thus 
the  total  supply  of  potassium  in  the  peat  to  a  depth  of  6^3  inches 
(2930  pounds)  would  be  equivalent  to  the  potassium  requirement 
(73  pounds)  of  a  hundred-bushel  crop  of  corn  for  only  40  years, 
or  if  the  equivalent  of  only  one- fourth  of  one  percent  of  this  is 
annually  available,  in  accordance  with  the  rough  estimate  sug- 
gested in  Bulletin  123,  about  7  pounds  of  potassium  would  be 
liberated  annually,  or  sufficient  for  about  10  bushels  of  corn  per 
acre. 

A  considerable  number  of  the  peaty  swamp  soils  from  different 
places  in  the  state  have  been  analyzed  by  the  Experiment  Station, 
and  all  of  them  are  found  to  be  very  rich  in  nitrogen,  well  supplied 
with  phosphorus,  but  very  deficient  in  potassium,  as  compared 
with  the  ordinary  fertile  soils  of  the  state. 

Some  preliminary  field  tests  gave  results  strongly  indicating 
the  need  of  applying  the  available  potassium  to  these  soils.  Pot- 
culture  experiments  gave  similar  indications,  and  the  field  experi- 
ments which  are  reported  in  this  bulletin  certainly  furnish  very 
conclusive  proof  of  the  power  of  potassium  to  increase  the  pro- 
ductive capacity  of  some  of  these  soils. 

TAMPICO  SOIL  EXPERIMENT  FIELD 

This,  as  one  of  the  regular  University  of  Illinois  soil  experi- 
ment fields,  was  located  in  the  N.  E.  40  of  the  S.  W.  Y^  of  Section 
6,  Township  19  N.,  Range  7  E.  of  the  4th  P.  M.,  on  the  farm 
of  Mr.  J.  H.  Milligan,  about  five  miles  northeast  of  Tampico, 
Whiteside  county,  Illinois.  The  soil  consists  of  black  peaty 
material,  rich  in  organic  matter  to  a  depth  of  sixteen  inches.  Be- 
tween 1 6  and  30  inches  the  material  is  lighter  in  color  and  quite 
sandy,  with  little  organic  matter.  The  subsoil  below  30  inches  is 
almost  pure  coarse  sand.  This  soil  is  fairly  representative  of  con- 
siderable amounts  of  land  in  southern  Whiteside  and  adjoining 
counties,  which  is  non-productive,  or  of  very  low  productive  ca- 
pacity, especially  for  corn. 

This  field  consists  of  ten  tenth-acre  plots,  numbered  from  101 
to  1 10.  The  individual  plots  are  each  two  rods  wide  and  eight 
rods  long,  each  plot  being  surrounded  by  a  cropped  and  cultivated 
border  one-fourth  rod  wide,  which  makes  one-half  rod  division 
strips  between  adjacent  plots.  The  treatment  applied  to  these 
different  plots  is  what  we  call  our  "complete  fertility  test."  It  in- 
cludes trials  with  applications  of  the  elements  nitrogen,  phos- 
phorus, and  potassium,  singly,  in  all  possible  double  combinations, 
and  all  three  together,  all  in  connection  with  lime ;  also  a  double 
test  as  to  the  effect  of  applying  lime,  first  with  lime  alone,  and 
finally  with  the  three  elements  added.  The  plan  will  be  easily 


98  BULLETIN  No.  157  [July, 

understood  by  reference  to  the  tabular  statements.  (L,  means 
lime,  N  means  nitrogen,  P  means  phosphorus,  and  K  means  potas- 
sium, from  the  Latin  name  kalium,  this  symbol  (K)  being  used 
for  potassium  by  all  nations.) 

Nitrogen  is  applied  in  the  form  of  dried  blood,  a  material 
containing  about  i2l/2  percent  of  nitrogen.  About  800  pounds  of 
dried  blood  per  acre  sre  used  each  year.  This  would  furnish  about 
100  pounds  of  nitrogen,  or  as  much  as  is  contained  in  100  bushels  of 
corn.  Of  course  the  nitrogen  is  purchased  and  applied  in  readily 
available  commercial  form  in  order  to  ascertain  as  quickly  as  pos- 
sible if  the  soil  is  in  need  of  nitrogen.  If  this  were  found  to  be 
the  case  it  would  simply  indicate  that  in  farm  practice  more 
nitrogen  should  be  obtained  from  the  air  by  means  of  leguminous 
crops,  as  we  are  doing  in  our  rotation  experiments  (see  Bulletins 
123  and  125),  and  not  that  commercial  nitrogen  should  be  bought 
and  applied  to  the  soil  (100  pounds  of  commercial  nitrogen  would 
cost  about  $15,  while  nitrogen  can  be  obtained  from  the  air  with 
clover  and  other  legumes,  which  are  usually  profitable  crops  to 
raise  for  their  own  sake.) 

The  phosphorus  is  applied  in  steamed  bone  meal.  This  mate- 
rialcontains  about  I2J/2  percent  of  the  element  phosphorus  in  quite 
readily  available  form.  About  200  pounds  of  steamed  bone  meal 
per  acre  are  applied  each  year.  This  furnishes  25  pounds  of 
phosphorus,  or  more  than  is  contained  in  a  loo-bushel  crop  of 
corn,  the  grain  containing  about  17  pounds  and  the  stalks  6  pounds 
of  that  element.  Owing  to  the  fact  that  the  steamed  bone  meal 
is  not  completely  available  the  first  season,  the  first  annual  applica- 
tion is  usually  400  instead  of  200  pounds  (phosphorus  in  steamed 
bone  meal  usually  costs  from  10  to  12  cents  a  pound,  the  steamed 
bone  meal  itself  being  $25  to  $30  a  ton). 

Potassium  is  applied  in  the  form  of  potassium  chlorid  (con- 
taining about  42  percent  of  potassium),  or  potassium  sulfate  (also 
containing  about  42  percent  of  that  element).  About  200  pounds 
of  the  salt  are  applied  the  first  year,  and  100  or  200  pounds  per 
acre  each  year  afterward.  One  hundred  bushels  of  corn  contain 
about  19  pounds  of  potassium  in  the  grain  and  2  pounds  in  the 
cobs,  and  the  corresponding  three  tons  of  stalks  contain  about  52 
pounds  of  that  element.  If  the  stalks  or  the  ashes  from  the  stalks 
are  left  on  the  land,  well  distributed,  the  annual  loss  in  potassium 
is  only  about  20  pounds  for  a  very  large  crop  of  corn,  and  TOO 
pounds  of  potassium  chlorid  will  furnish  42  pounds  of  the  ele- 
ment potassium.  If  both  grain  and  stover  are  removed,  about  200 
pounds  must  be  added  each  year. 


PEATY  SWAMP  LANDS;    SAND  AND  ALKALI  SOILS 


99 


The  results  obtained  from  the  Tampico  soil  experiment  field  in 
1902  to  1904  are  shown  in  Table  i.  It  should  be  stated  that  al- 
tho  lime  was  applied  to  certain  plots  in  this  field  in  the  be- 
ginning of  the  experiment,  in  accordance  with  our  regular  plan 
of  "complete  fertility  tests,"  it  has  produced  no  effect  whatever, 
and  the  subsequent  analysis  of  soil  samples  taken  at  the  time  the 
field  was  located  also  shows  that  the  soil  is  not  in  need  of  lime. 
(Lime  is  added  to  supply  calcium  as  an  element  of  plant  food,  and 
also  to  correct  any  possible  acidity  of  the  soil,  and  thus  to  insure 
good  physical  conditions  where  the  elements  of  plant  food  are 
added.) 

TABLE  1— CROP  YIELDS  IN  SOIL  EXPERIMENTS,  TAMPICO  FIELD,  1902  TO  1904 


Soil 
plot 
No. 

Soil  treatment  applied 

Yield  per  acre 

Value  of 
3  crops 
at  35c 
per  bu. 

1902 
Corn, 
bu. 

1903 
Corn, 
bu. 

1904 
Corn, 
bu. 

Total 
yield  for 
3  years 

101 
102 

None  ;  

0 
0 

0 
0 

0 
26  9* 

0 
26.9 

$  0 
9.41* 

L/ime  (and  K  after  2  years) 

103 

104 
105 

L/ime    nitrogen   

0 
0 
34.1 

0 
0 
45.4 

0 
0 

45.2 

0 
0 
124.7 

$  0 
0 
43.64 

L/ime,  potassium  

106 

107 
108 

L/ime,    nitrogen,    phos- 
phorus   

0 
37.6 

35.3 

0 
58.7 

46.8 

0 
44.1 

43.0 

0 
140.4 

125.1 

$  o 

49.14 
43.78 

L/ime,  nitrogen,  potassium 
L/ime,  phosphorus, 
potassium  

109 
110 

L/ime,    nitrogen,    phos- 

56.5 
49.4 

65.9 
58.6 

44.0 

35.  6f 

166.4 
143.6 

$58.24 
50.26f 

Nitrogen,    phosphorus, 
potassium  

*  125  pounds  potassium  sulfate  per  acre  was  applied  to  Plot  102  in  1904. 
t  No  potassium  was  applied  to  Plot  110  in  1904. 

It  will  be  observed  that  every  plot  to  which  potassium  was 
applied  produced  a  fair  crop  of  corn,  varying  from  41  bushels  to 
55  bushels  per  acre  as  a  three-year  average,  while  not  an  ear  of 
corn  was  produced  on  any  plot  not  treated  with  potassium.  Even 
the  yield  of  stover,  or  barren  stalks,  was  small  on  plots  not  re- 
ceiving potassium.  There  was  considerable  variation  in  the  yield 
of  corn  from  the  plots  treated  with  potassium  during  1902  and 
1903.  This  was  almost  entirely  due  to  the  excessive  rainfall  and 
consequent  injury  to  some  plots  from  too  much  water.  Like  much 


100  BULLETIN  No.  157  [July, 

of  these  swamp  lands,  this  field  was  not  sufficiently  well  drained 
to  protect  it  in  wet  seasons.  Plots  109  and  no,  especially,  and 
Plot  107,  to  some  extent,  were  on  slightly  higher  ground  than 
the  other  plots,  which  is  believed  to  account  largely  for  the  higher 
yields  on  those  plots.  In  1904,  when  the  season  was  normal,  no 
such  differences  occurred. 

Plate  i  shows  the  corn  growing  on  Plot  106  with  nitrogen  and 
phosphorus,  on  the  left,  and  on  Plot  105  with  potassium,  on  the 
right.  { 

The  yields  on  Plots  5,  7,  and  8  are  probably  considerably 
lower  for  1902  and  1903  owing  to  the  very  wet  seasons  than  they 
would  otherwise  have  been.  It  is  evident  that  the  excessive  amount 
of  water  in  the  soil  retarded  the  nitrification  of  the  organic  nitro- 
gen naturally  contained  in  the  soil  in  very  large  amounts;  while 
the  nitrogen  supplied  in  the  form  of  dried  blood,  being  in  the  sur- 
face soil  and  very  easily  nitrified,  did  effect  some  increase  in  the 
yield  wherever  both  potassium  and  nitrogen  were  added.  This 
effect  was  plainly  apparent  during  the  growing  season,  the  stronger 
growth  and  darker  color  of  the  plants  treated  with  nitrogen  in 
connection  with  potassium  being  distinctly  discernible.  Of  course 
this  result  does  not  indicate  that  commercial  nitrogen  could  be 
used  with  profit  on  this  soil,  but  rather  that  the  field  needs  better 
drainage  in  such  wet  seasons.  This  soil  is  naturally  several  times 
richer  in  nitrogen  than  the  most  fertile  soils  of  the  corn-belt.  It 
is  also  well  supplied  with  phosphorus.  With  more  perfect  drain- 
age and  a  plentiful  supply  of  potassium,  this  soil  is  undoubtedly 
capable  of  producing  even  more  than  65  bushels  of  corn  to  the 
acre. 

Plate  2  shows  the  1903  crop  growing  on  the  Tampico  field. 
The  upper  view  shows  Plot  5  (potassium)  on  the  left,  and  Plot 
6  (nitrogen  and  phosphorus)  on  the  right.  The  lower  view  shows 
Plot  6  (nitrogen  and  phosphorus)  on  the  left,  and  Plot  7  (nitro- 
gen and  potassium)  on  the  right.  (This  soil  naturally  contains  an 
abundance  of  lime,  a  small  amount  of  which  was  added  to  these 
plots  in  the  beginning  of  the  experiment  before  the  soil  had  been 
analyzed.  The  lime  was  not  needed,  however,  and  it  has  pro- 
duced no  effect.) 

The  experiments  on  the  Tampico  field  were  discontinued  after 
1904. 

MOMENCE  SOIL  EXPERIMENT  FIELD 

This  is  also  one  of  the  regular  University  of  Illinois  soil  ex- 
periment fields.  It  is  located  in  the  N.  E.  40  of  S.  E.  %  of  Section 
6,  Township  30  N.,  Range  n  W.  of  2nd  P.M.,  on  the  farm  of 
Mr.  C.  C.  Porter,  about  three  miles  south  of  Momence,  Kankakee 


1912} 


PEATY  SWAMP  LANDS;    SAND  AND  ALKALI  SOILS 


101 


fc 
W 

O 

O 

* 

g 


102 


BULLETIN  No.  157 


PEATY  SWAMP  LANDS;    SAND  AND  ALKALI  SOILS  103 

county,  Illinois,  on  peaty  swamp  soil  which  is  underlain  with  im- 
pure limestone  at  a  depth  of  two  to  three  feet,  with  about  12 
inches  of  yellow  sandy  subsoil  between  the  black  soil  and  the 
underlying  rock. 

A  considerable  part  of  the  north  half  of  Plots  101  and  102 
and  a  smaller  part  of  the  other  plots  extend  over  somewhat  dif- 
ferent land  where  the  soil  contains  sufficient  available  potassium 
to  produce  a  medium  crop  of  corn  in  a  good  season,*  The  south 
halves  of  the  plots  are  on  soil  which  is  fairly  representative  of 
the  most  non-productive  phase  of  this  peaty  swamp  soil.  There 
are  very  large  areas  of  swamp  soil  in  Kankakee  and  adjoining 
counties  of  very  low  productive  capacity,  much  of  which  will  re- 
spond to  the  same  treatment  as  this  field.  (There  are  some  prob- 
able exceptions,  ho\vever,  which  will  be  noted  below,) 

Series  100  is  laid  out  in  the  same  manner  and  received  the 
same  kinds  of  treatment  as  the  Tampico  field.  Table  2  shows  the 
results  which  were  obtained  during  a  period  of  ten  years  (1902 
to  1911). 

During  the  ten  years  the  field  has  been  under  the  control  of 
the  University,  nine  corn  crops  and  one  oats  crop  have  been  grown. 
The  average  yield  of  corn  on  the  fourf  plots  receiving  no  potas- 
sium has  amounted  to  but  3.6  bushels  per  acre,  while  the  average 
yield  of  the  fourf  plots  treated  with  potassium,  at  the  average 
rate  of  154.3  pounds  of  potassium  sulfate  per  acre  per  annum,  has 
amounted  to  44.6  bushels.  The  yields  for  1902  are  not  as  reliable 
as  those  for  later  years  because  the  crop  was  considerably  injured 
during  that  season  on  account  of  inadequate  drainage,  a  condition 
which  was  corrected  before  the  1903  crop  was  grown  on  this  field. 
Nevertheless  the  effect  of  potassium  on  the  1902  crop  was  very 
marked. 

The  total  average  value  of  the  nine  crops  of  corn  (at  35  cents 
a  bushel)  on  the  four  plots  receiving  no  potassium  amounted  to 
$11.41,  \vhile  the  total  average  value  of  the  nine  crops  of  corn 
on  the  four  plots  receiving  potassium  amounted  to  $140.56,  a  dif- 
ference of  $129.15.  The  cost  of  the  potassium  at  $50.00  per  ton 
for  potassium  sulfate  was  $34.72.  The  average  yearly  increase  on 
the  nine  corn  crops  due  to  potassium  amounted  to  $10.49  Per  acre, 
or  372  percent  on  the  investment. 

Including  the  oats  crop,  which  showed  much  less  effect  from 
potassium,  the  total  average  value  of  the  ten  crops  from  the  four 
plots  without  potassium  amounted  to  $16.03,  while  the  total  aver- 


*In  locating  our  soil  experiment  fields,  we  endeavor  to  select  as  uniform 
land  as  possible,  but  if  there  is  any  apparent  difference  in  the  field  we  always 
try  to  put  the  check  plot  with  no  treatment  on  the  best  soil  in  order  that  the 
effect  of  the  treatment  shall  not  be  exaggerated. 

fPlots  102  and  no  are  not  included  in  the  averages. 


104  BULLETIN  No.  157  [July, 

age  value  from  the  four  plots  receiving  154.3  pounds  of  potas- 
sium sulfate  per  acre  per  annum  amounted  to  $147.17,  a  difference 
of  $131.14.  The  average  yearly  increase  on  the  ten  crops  due  to 
potassium  amounted  to  $9.25  per  acre,  or  340  percent  on  the  in- 
vestment. 

Both  nitrogen  and  phosphorus  have  produced  some  effect  on 
the  Momence  field,  especially  during  the  later  years.  For  the  first 
four  years  nitrogen,  as  an  average  of  two  tests  each  year,  showed 
an  apparent  loss  of  2.3  bushels  of  corn  per  acre,  but  during  the 
last  five  years , there  has  been  a  gain  of  5.3  bushels  of  corn  per 
acre.  During  the  first  four  years  phosphorus  made  an  average 
gain  of  2.8  bushels  of  corn  per  acre,  while  during  the  last  five 
years  the  gain  has  been  13.0  bushels  of  corn  per  acre,  or  a  nine- 
year  average  gain  of  8.5  bushels  per  acre.  Phosphorus  not  only 
increased  the  yield  sufficient  to  pay  its  cost  when  applied  in  the 
form  of  steamed  bone  meal  at  the  rate  of  200  pounds  per  acre 
per  annum,  but  it  also  improved  the  quality  of  the  corn  by  hasten- 
ing its  maturity.  During  the  later  years  the  increase  has  been 
sufficient  to  pay  the  cost  of  the  treatment  and  to  leave  a  clear  gain 
of  $2.05  per  acre,  or  82  percent  net  on  the  investment.  With  no 
provision  for  fresh,  active  vegetable  matter,  the  phosphorus  in 
the  soil  is  less  readily  available  than  that  applied  in  steamed  bone, 
which  contains  some  readily  decomposable  organic  matter. 

Plates  3,  4,  and  5  show  the  crops  growing  on  the  Momence 
field  in  1903.  Plates  3  and  4  show  Plots  I,  2,  3,  4,  and  5,  in  the 
order  given. 

The  upper  view  in  Plate  3  shows  Plot  i,  to  which  no  treat- 
ment was  applied.  On  the  right,  looking  over  Plots  2,  3,  and  4, 
we  see  Plot  5,  to  which  potassium  was  applied. 

The  lower  view  in  Plate  3  shows  Plot  2,  to  which  lime  only 
was  applied.  On  the  right  we  see  the  good  corn  in  Plot  5,  beyond 
Plots  3  and  4. 

The  upper  view  in  Plate  4  shows  Plot  3,  to  which  nitrogen 
was  applied,  on  the  right  of  which  is  Plot  4,  with  Plot  5  beyond. 

The  lower  view  of  Plate  4  shows  Plot  4  (phosphorus)  on  the 
left,  and  Plot  5  (potassium}  on  the  right,  where  the  corn  yielded 
72  bushels  to  the  acre. 

The  upper  view  of  Plate  5  shows  Plot  5  (potassium')  on  the 
left,  Plot  6  (nitrogen  and  phosphorus)  in  the  middle,  and  Plot  7 
(nitrogen  and  potassium}  on  the  right.  Potassium  on  Plot  5 
made  72  bushels,  and  on  Plot  7  potassium  with  nitrogen  made  71 
bushels  of  good  sound  corn  (80  pounds  per  bushel),  while  Plot 
6,  between  those  two,  made  less  than  4  bushels  of  nubbins. 

The  lower  view  in  Plate  5  shows  the  effect  of  potassium  on 
buckwheat  on  the  Momence  field,  potassium  having  been  applied 
on  the  right,  and  nothing  applied  on  the  left. 


1912} 


PEATY  SWAMP  LANDS;    SAND  AND  ALKALI  SOILS 


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I9iz\  PEATY  SWAMP  LANDS;    SAND  AND  ALKALI  SOILS  109 

In  Tables  3  and  4  are  recorded  the  results  from  Series  200 
and  Series  30x3,  Momence  experiment  field,  1904  to  1911. 

The  work  was  not  begun  on  these  series  until  1904.  A  rotation 
consisting  of  two  crops  of  corn,  one  of  oats,  and  one  of  clover  has 
been  practiced.  Instead  of  applying  nitrogen  in  commercial  form 
as  on  Series  100,  the  nitrogen  has  been  provided  for  in  legume 
crops,  cover  crops,  and  crop  residues  in  the  system  of  grain  farm- 
ing, and  in  farm  manures  in  the  live-stock  system.  The  legume 
cover  crops  and  crop  residues  have  been  made  use  of  since  the 
beginning,  but  no  manure  was  applied  till  1908  after  the  first 
clover  crop  of  1907.  The  manure  was  applied  in  proportion  to 
the  crop  yields.  Where  larger  crops  were  produced  more  manure 
was  applied;  and,  of  course,  more  manure  was  applied  to  Series 
300  than  to  Series  200.  The  phosphorus  was  applied  in  the  form 
of  pure  steamed  bone  meal,  carrying  12^2  percent  phosphorus,  at 
the  rate  of  200  pounds  per  acre  per  annum.  No  potassium  has 
been  applied  to  Series  200,  but  potassium  has  been  applied  to  the 
whole  of  Series  300  at  the  rate  of  150  pounds  of  potassium  sul- 
fate  per  acre  per  annum.  Common  salt  (sodium  chlorid)  was  ap- 
plied to  the  north  half  of  all  the  plots  of  Series  200  at  the  rate  of 
600  pounds  per  acre  in  the  spring  of  1908.  So  far  as  it  is  possible 
to  observe,  no  effect  has  been  produced  by  the  salt. 

The  land  on  which  Series  200  and  Series  300  are  located  is 
naturally  more  productive  than  that  on  which  Series  100  is  located. 
The  untreated  land  of  Series  200  will  produce  under  favorable 
conditions  10  to  15  bushels  of  corn  per  acre.  The  south  half  of 
Plot  202  occupies  the  area  of  an  old  stack  bottom.  For  this  reason 
the  yields  from  this  plot  are  too  large  for  the  first  three  or  four 
years.  The  yields  from  Plots  201  and  203  were  also  influenced 
but  not  to  the  same  extent. 

As  an  average  of  sixteen  tests  extending  over  the  last  four 
crops,  phosphorus  has  returned  only  $3.95  per  acre  in  increased 
crop  yields  on  Series  200,  but  $5.77  on  Series  300.  In  neither 
case  is  the  increase  sufficient  to  pay  for  the  phosphorus  in  200 
pounds  of  steamed  bone  meal  per  acre  per  annum,  the  amount  ap- 
plied to  these  fields.  If  finely  ground  raw  rock  phosphate  had 
been  used  with  the  same  effect,  the  increase  would  have  paid  the 
cost  on  Series  200  and  more  than  paid  the  cost  on  Series  300. 
The  manure  paid  in  increased  crop-yields  $4.04  on  Series  200, 
and  $9.70  on  Series  300. 

On  neither  series  was  the  increase  more  than  sufficient  to  pay 
for  the  manure,  which,  as  stated  above,  was  applied  in  proportion 
to  previous  crop  yields.  The  potassium  produced  an  increase  in 
eight  years  amounting  to  $42.98  per  acre.  The  potassium  cost  in 
potassium  sulfate,  applied  at  the  rate  of  150  pounds  per  acre  per 


110 


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112  BULLETIN  No.  157  [July, 

annum,  $30.00,  leaving  a  net  profit  of  $12.98  per  acre,  or  43.3 
percent  on  the  investment.  Probably  100  pounds  of  potassium 
sulfate  per  acre  per  annum  where  used  in  connection  with  manure 
would  have  paid  better  than  the  heavier  application. 

During  the  last  four  years  the  potassium  produced  an  increase 
in  yield  valued  at  only  $13.79.  This  is  barely  sufficient  to  pay  for 
the  cost  of  the  potassium. 

OLD  MANITO  SOIL  EXPERIMENT  FIELD 

This  was  a  cooperative  soil  experiment  field  located  on  deep 
peat  soil  about  one  mile  northeast  of  Manito,  in  Mason  county. 
Illinois,  almost  on  the  line  between  Mason  and  Tazewell  counties. 
It  was  on  the  farm  of  Mr.  James  Pollard,  which  was  operated 
by  Mr.  Joseph  Brenner. 

The  soil  is  a  black  peaty  material,  consisting  largely  of  organic 
matter.  It  is  quite  uniform  to  a  depth  of  several  feet.  At  a  depth 
of  from  six  or  eight  to  twelve  or  fifteen  feet,  the  peaty  material 
is  underlain  with  sand. 

In  Table  5  are  recorded  all  results  obtained  from  the  Old 
Manito  experiment  field,  begun  in  1902,  and  discontinued  after 
1905.  The  plots  in  this  field  were  one  acre*  each  in  size,  being 
two  rods  wide  and  80  rods  long.  Untreated  half-rod  division 
strips  were  left  between  the  plots,  which,  however,  were  cropped 
the  same  as  the  plots. 

A  large  open  ditch  provides  fairly  good  drainage  for  the  swamp 
in  which  the  Manito  field  is  located,  but  the  excessive  rainfall  of 
1902  certainly  injured  the  yield  to  a  considerable  extent.  The 
fact  that  no  further  application  of  potassium  was  made  for  the 
second  crop  probably  accounts  for  the  comparatively  low  yield  of 
1903. 

The  effect  of  potassium  on  this  field  has  been  to  increase  the 
yield  of  corn  from  about  14  bushels  to  more  than  40  bushels  per 
acre.  Phosphorus  (in  steamed  bone  meal)  applied  in  addition 
to  potassium  (Plot  4)  produced  no  increase  over  the  potassium 
alone.  The  use  of  700  pounds  of  sodium  chlorid  (common  salt) 
produced  no  appreciable  increase  over  the  best  untreated  plots,  in- 
dicating that  where  potassium  is  itself  actually  deficient,  salts  of 
other  elements  cannot  take  its  place. 

Applications  of  two  tons  per  acre  of  ground  limestone  pro- 
duced no  increase-  in  the  corn  crops,  neither  when  applied  alone 
nor  in  combination  with  kainit,  neither  the  first  year  nor  the  sec- 
ond vear. 


*In   1904  the  yields  were  taken  from  quarter-acre  plots    because  of  severe 
insect  injury  on  the  other  part  of  the  field. 


1012} 


PEATY  SWAMP  LANDS  ;    SAND  AND  ALKALI  SOILS 


113 


TABLE;  5 CORN  YIELDS  IN  SOIL  EXPERIMENTS,  OLD  MANITO  FIELD,  TYPICAL 

DEEP  PEAT  SOIL 


Plot 
No. 

Soil  treatment 
for  1902 

Corn 
1902, 
bu. 

Corn 
1903, 
bu. 

Soil  treatment 
for  1904 

Corn 
1904, 
bu. 

Corn 

19.i5, 
bu. 

Four 
crops, 
bu. 

1 

10.9 

8.1 

17.0 

12.0 

48.0 

10.4 

10.4 

L/imestone,  4000  Ib. 

12.0 

10.1 

42.9 

3 

4 
5 

Kainit,  600  Ib  

(  Kainit,6001b.    | 
'  Acidulated 
(       bone,  350  Ib.  ) 

(  Potassium           ) 
|  chlorid,  200  Ib.  j 

(  Sodium                 | 

30.4 
30.3 

31.2 
11.1 

32.4 
33.3 

33.9 
13.1 

{L/imestone,         ) 
4000  Ib.  V 
Kainit,  1200  Ib.  ) 

(  Kainit,  1200  Ib.  ) 
•<  Steamed  bone,  [ 
(                 395  Ib.    ) 

j  Potassium           | 
\  chlorid,  400  Ib.  j 

49.6 

53.5 

48.5 
24.0 

47.3 
47.6 

52.7 
22.1 

159.7 

164.7 

166.3 
70.3 

}  chlorid,  700  Ib.  \ 
j  Sodium                 ) 

•1  -1     I 

Uc 

Kainit    1200  Ib 

44  5 

47.3 

7 
8 

f  chlorid,  700  Ib.  J 
Kainit,  600  Ib   

36  8 

37.7 

Kainit,  600  Ib   

44.0 

46.0 

164.5 

9 

Kainit    300  Ib  

26  4 

25  1 

Kainit,  300  Ib  

41.5 

32.9 

125.9 

10 

None   

14  9* 

14.9 

None  

26.0 

13  6 

69.4 

*Estimated  from  1903;  no  yield  was  taken  in  1902  because  of  misunder- 
standing. 

The  results  are  practically  the  same  whether  the  potassium  is 
applied  in  the  form  of  potassium  chlorid,  containing  42  percent 
of  potassium,  or  as  kainit,  a  crude  mineral  containing  only  10  per- 
cent of  potassium.  Altho  the  application  of  600  pounds  of  kainit 
is  not  quite  equivalent  to  200  pounds  of  potassium  chlorid,  the 
kainit  has  given  nearly  as  good  results  during  the  four  years' 
trials.  The  cost  of  600  pounds  of  kainit  is  about  the  same  as '200 
pounds  of  potassium  chlorid,  unless  the  kainit  were  purchased  in 
carload  lots  and  the  more  expensive  potassium  chlorid  in  less  than 
carload  lots,  a  carload  of  kainit  costing  only  about  one-fourth  as 
much  as  a  carload  of  the  chlorid  or  sulfate. 

Of  course  it  is  somewhat  more  expensive  to  handle  the  heavier 
amounts  of  kainit,  and  the  fact  that  200  pounds  of  potassium  chlorid 
contain  84  pounds  of  potassium,  while  the  600  pounds  of  kainit 
contain  only  60  pounds  of  potassium,  is  evidence  that  the  effect  of 
the  potassium  chlorid  will  be  no  more  lasting. 


114  BULLETIN  No.  157  [July, 

Reducing  the  application  of  kainit  from  600  to  300  pounds  for 
each  two-year  period  reduced  the  yield  of  corn  from  164.5  to 
125.9  bushels.  The  two  applications  of  300  pounds  of  kainit  fur- 
nished 60  pounds  of  potassium  for  the  four  years,  or  sufficient  for 
84  bushels  of  corn  (grain  and  stalks).  The  difference  between 
this  and  the  125.9  bushels  obtained  is  42  bushels,  about  what  was 
obtained  from  the  poorest  untreated  plot.  It  seems  altogether 
probable  that  heavier  applications  of  potassium  (say  200  pounds 
of  potassium  chlorid  each  year)  will  increase  the  yield  of  corn 
on  this  soil  to  60  to  70  bushels,  or  possibly  more,  as  has  been  the 
result  on  the  Momence  field  in  the  most  favorable  seasons. 

The  underdrainage  provided  for  the  Old  Manito  field  was  not 
sufficient  for  the  best  results,  probably  because  of  insufficient 
nitrification.  In  other  experiments  on  peaty  soil  with  imperfect 
drainage  the  addition  of  $15  worth  of  nitrogen  with  potassium 
produced  about  15  bushels  more  corn  than  where  potassium  alone 
was  used.  (See  Table  I.) 

It  should  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  stalks  for  a  hundred-bushel 
crop  of  corn  require  52  pounds  of  potassium  (besides  that  required 
for  the  root  growth),  while  the  100  bushels  of  grain  will  require 
19  pounds.  Of  course  the  stalks  must  be  grown  before  the  ears 
can  be  produced;  and,  while  there  is  a  strong  natural  tendency  in 
corn,  as  in  all  plants,  to  reproduce  seed,  yet  it  has  been  shown  by 
actual  trial  that  in  such  soil  as  that  on  the  Tampico  field,  for  ex- 
ample, which,  without  treatment,  is  incapable  of  producing  ear 
corn,  small  applications  of  potassium  are  practically  useless,  as  they 
only  effect  a  larger  growth  of  stalks,  but  do  not  furnish  sufficient 
potassium  to  enable  those  stalks  to  produce  ears.  This  fact  was  well 
illustrated  on  Mr.  Milligan's  land  adjoining  the  Tampico  field  in 
1903.  Because  of  the  marked  results  produced  by  potassium  on 
that  field  in  1902,  Mr.  Milligan  used  some  potassium  on  his  own 
corn  for  1903.  The  amount  of  potassium  chlorid  which  he  pur- 
chased was  not  sufficient  to  make  a  heavy  application  to  all  of  the 
land  where  he  wished  to  apply  it.  He  reduced  the  application  to 
50  pounds  of  potassium  chlorid  per  acre  on  some  of  his  land.  As 
a  result  he  obtained  a  largely  increased  growth  of  stalks,  but  still 
produced  practically  no  ear  corn.  On  such  land,  200  pounds  of 
potassium  chlorid  is  worth  very  much  more  when  applied  to  one 
acre  than  when  scattered  over  four  acres. 

OTHER  PEATY  AND  ALKALI  SOILS 

Aside  from  deep  peat,  there  are  many  other  types  of  peaty  soil, 
as  will  be  seen  from  the  classification  of  Illinois  soil  types,  (see 
appendix  to  Bulletin  123).  Thus  we  find  shallow  peat  and  med- 


1912}  PEATY  SWAMP  LANDS  ;    SAND  AND  ALKALI  SOILS  115 

ium  peat,  underlain  with  clay,  sand,  rock,  etc.,  and  also  sandy  peat 
and  peaty  loam;  and  in  some  instances  peaty  soils  also  contain 
alkali,  consisting  chiefly  of  harmless  calcium  carbonate  (limestone) 
with  smaller  amounts  of  injurious  magnesium  carbonate. 

In  some  cases  these  peaty  soils  actually  contain  a  good  percent- 
age of  total  potassium,  more  commonly  in  the  subsurface  or  sub- 
soil, but  sometimes  in  the  surface  soil  also,  and  yet  the  untreated 
soil  is  unproductive  while  the  addition  of  potassium  salts  produces 
large  and  very  profitable  increases  in  the  yield  of  corn,  oats,  etc. 

In  pot-culture  experiments  we  have  even  been  able  by  the  addi- 
tion of  potassium  sulfate  to  correct  to  a  considerable  extent  the  in- 
jurious property  of  magnesium  carbonate  that  has  been  purposely 
applied  to  ordinary  brown  silt  loam  prairie  soil  which  is  known  to 
contain  abundance  of  available  potassium. 

These  facts  are  mentioned  here  because  we  recommend,  tenta- 
tively, the  application  of  potassium  salt  to  all  classes  of  peaty  and 
alkali  soils  that  are  unproductive  after  being  well  drained,  when- 
ever the  supply  of  farm  manure  is  insufficient.  It  should  be  under- 
stood that  plenty  of  farm  manure,  preferably  quick-acting,  or 
readily  decomposable,  manure,  such  -as  horse  manure,  will  supply 
potassium  and  thus  accomplish  everything  that  potassium  salts  can 
accomplish,  and  on  some  swamp  soils  manure  produces  good  re- 
sults where  potassium  is  without  effect. 

In  pot-culture  experiments  soils  containing  injurious  amounts 
of  magnesium  carbonate  have  been  treated  with  calcium  sulfate 
(land  plaster),  which  brings  about  a  double  decomposition,  or 
interchange,  forming  the  harmless  insoluble  calcium  carbonate 
(limestone)  and  the  very  soluble  magnesium  sulfate,  which  is 
subsequently  leached  out,  leaving  the  soil  productive. 

NEW  MANITO  SOIL  EXPERIMENT  FIELD 

This  is  one  of  the  regular  University  of  Illinois  soil  experiment 
fields.  It  is  located  in  the  S.  E.  >4  of  N.  W.  l/4  of  Section  19, 
Township  23  N.,  Range  5  W.  of  3rd  P.  M.,  on  the  farm  of  W.  N. 
Sunderland,  about  four  miles  east  of  Manito,  Illinois,  just  across 
the  line  in  Tazewell  county,  on  alkali  soil  consisting  of  peaty, 
clayey  sand  with  some  gravel,  and  containing  sufficient  total  po- 
tassium for  normal  crop  yields. 

A  three-year  rotation  of  corn,  oats,  and  wheat  is  practiced  on 
this  field,  and  as  there  are  three  series,  all  crops  are  represented 
every  year. 

In  Table  6  are  recorded  the  treatments  applied  and  the  results 
obtained  on  the  new  Manito  field  for  1907  to  1911. 


116 


BULLETIN  No.  157 


[July, 


TABLE  6.— CROP  YIELDS  IN  SOIL  EXPERIMENTS  ON  PEATY  ALKALI  SOIL: 
NEW  MANITO  FIELD,  1907  TO  1911 


Soil 
plot 
No. 

Soil  treatment 
applied 

1907 
Corn, 
bu. 

1908 
Corn, 
bu. 

1909 
Corn, 
bu. 

1910 
Corn, 
bu. 

1911 
Corn, 
bu. 

Value 
of 
5  Crops 

1 

None  

8.8 

34.9 

8.6 

8.0 

20.6 

$28  .  32 

2W 
2E 
3 
4 
5 

Manure,   6  tons.... 
Manure,  12  tons   -  . 
Potassium  sulfate.. 
Calcium   sulfate 
None  

43.5 
64.9 
73.1 
5.0 
5.4 

29.1 
23.2 
38.7 
13.4 
10.3 

35.7 
44.5 
31.6 
21 
4.6 

67.5 
75.5 
51.8 
4.8 
14  6 

j  35.2 

35.2 
15.7 
18  8 

79.51 

80.64 
14.35 
18  80 

Soil 
plot 
No. 

Soil  treatment 
applied 

1907 
Oat_ 
bu  ' 

1908 
Oats, 
bu. 

1909 
Oats, 
bu. 

1910 
Oats, 
bu. 

1911 
Oats, 
bu. 

Value 
of 
5  crops 

1 

39.1 

19.9 

63.0 

57.5 

5.6 

$55.53 

2W 

Manure,   6  tons  

24.0 

62.5 

i  _,.  ,. 

2E 
3 
4 
5 

Manure,   12  tons  .... 
Potassium  sulfate.. 
Calcium  sulfate  .... 

j  28.1 

41.9 

25.4 
19,3 

23.8 
20.3 
17.5 
18.1 

67.5 
62.6 
63.8 
65.3 

•j  59.6 

68.8 
39.8 
37.5 

14.4 

15.6 
5.3 
10.6 

57.30 

62.76 

45.54 
45.24 

Soil 
plot 
No. 

Soil  treatment 
applied 

1907* 

1908 
Wheat 
bu. 

1909 
Wheat 
bu. 

1910 
Wheat 
bu. 

1911 
Wheat 
bu. 

Value 
of 
4  crops 

1 

None  .. 

24.5 

13.5 

7.7 

11.3 

$39.90 

2W 

3 

4 
5 

Manure,  6  tons  
Manure,  12  tons  .  . 
Potassium  sulfate.. 
Calcium  sulfate  .  . 
None  

(27.6 

'27.8 
20.1 
21.5 

22.7 
24.1 
18.3 
14.7 
2.0 

J13.0 

22.0 
7.0 

7.7 

14.7 

16.0 
5.7 
6.0 

55.09 

58.87 
33.25 
26.04 

*  The  field  was  secured  too  late  to  seed  wheat  for  1907. 


The  manure  is  applied  once  during  the  rotation  for  the  corn 
crop  at  the  rate  of  6  tons  per  acre  to  the  west  half  of  Plot  2  and 
at  the  rate  of  12  tons  per  acre  to  the  east  half  of  Plot  2.  The 
potassium  has  been  applied  at  the  rate  of  148  pounds  of  potassium 
sulfate  per  acre  per  annum.  For  the  first  three  years,  1907  to 
1909,  400  pounds  per  acre  were  applied  in  1907,  but  since  then  it 
has  been  applied  every  year.  Plot  4  was  divided  into  four  equal 
parts  and  calcium  sulfate  (land  plaster,  gypsum)  was  applied  at 
the  rate  of  2  tons,  4  tons,  8  tons,  and  16  tons,  per  acre,  at  a  cost 
of  $6.00  per  ton.  None  has  been  applied  since  1907. 

The  calcium  sulfate  has  produced  no  increase  whatever.  It 
was  applied  with  the  thought  that  by  double  decomposition  and 


PEATY  SWAMP  LANDS;    SAND  AND  ALKALI  SOILS  117 

leaching  the  harmful  magnesium  might  be  removed.  Thus  far, 
however,  it  does  not  seem  to  have  produced  the  desired  result  in 
these  field  experiments. 

Both  the  manure  and  the  potassium  have  produced  good  re- 
sults. The  soil  on  this  field  is  not  uniform,  and,  as  has  always 
been  the  practice,  the  check  plots  were  given  the  advantage  by 
being  located  on  the  better  soil.  This  is  readily  seen  by  examining 
the  yields,  especially  for  Plot  I.  As  a  result  of  this  the  increases 
recorded  do  not  fully  represent  the  total  effect  of  the  soil  treat- 
ment. 

The  effect  of  the  manure  has  been  to  increase  the  value  of  the 
corn  crop  for  the  five  years  by  $55.95;  of  the  five  oats  crops  by 
$6.91;  and  of  the  four  wheat  crops  by  $22.12;  or  a  total  for  all 
crops  of  $84.98,  or  $1.89  per  ton  of  manure.  In  almost  every 
instance  where  the  yields  were  kept  separate  the  heavier  applica- 
tion of  manure  has  produced  the  larger  yield.  The  6  tons  of 
manure  contained  only  about  60  pounds  of  potassium,  which  is 
not  as  much  as  the  three  crops  removed.  It  is  only  about  one-third 
as  much  as  was  provided  in  the  potassium  sulfate  at  the  rate  of 
150  pounds  per  acre  per  annum.  The  12  tons  of  manure  per  acre 
also  did  not  supply  as  much  potassium  as  is  needed  on  this  soil 
because  when  a  larger  amount  was  applied  in  the  150  pounds  of 
potassium  sulfate  a  still  further  increase  in  the  yield  resulted. 

From  the  results  of  the  first  three  years  where  400  pounds  of 
potassium  sulfate  per  acre  were  applied  for  the  rotation,  it  would 
seem  that  it  is  better  to  apply  the  potassium  annually  rather  than 
in  large  amounts  at  long  intervals. 

The  effect  of  the  potassium  has  been  to  increase  the  value  of 
the  corn  crop  for  the  five  years  by  $57.08;  of  the  five  oats  crops 
by  $12.37;  and  of  the  four  wheat  crops  by  $25.90;  or  a  total  for 
all  crops  of  $95.35.  As  an  average  of  the  five  years,  the  150 
pounds  of  potassium  sulfate  produced  an  increase  in  crop  yields 
valued  at  $6.36  per  acre,  which  gives  a  net  profit  of  $2.60  per  acre 
per  annum.  One  hundred  fifty  pounds  of  potassium  sulfate,  cost- 
ing $3.75,  has  produced  as  large  an  increase  as  3  tons  of  good 
stable  manure.  This  reduces  the  value  of  the  manure  to  $1.25  per 
ton  as  compared  with  potassium  sulfate  for  treating  peaty  alkali 
land. 

RESULTS  OF  INVESTIGATIONS  IN  INDIANA  AND 

WISCONSIN 

As  previously  stated,  the  Indiana  and  Wisconsin  experiment 
stations  have  reported  some  investigations  of  non-productive  soils, 
including  some  peaty  swamp  soils. 


118  BULLETIN  No.  157  [July, 

Bulletin  57  of  the  Indiana  Agricultural  Experiment  Station  on 
"The  Improvement  of  Unproductive  Black  Soils,"  by  Professor 
H.  A.  Huston,  published  in  1895,  contains  the  following  general 
conclusions : 

"The  use  of  straw  or  kainit  has  proved  very  profitable  as  a  means  of 
temporary  improvement  of  such  lands. 

"The  permanent  improvement  of  such  lands  must  be  effected  by  efficient 
drainage." 

In  the  summary  of  Bulletin  95  of  the  Indiana  Station,  which 
was  published  in  1903,  and  which  is  essentially  a  reprint  of  Bulle- 
tin 57,  Professor  Huston  inserts  the  following  additional  conclu- 
sion: 

"On  black  lands  containing  considerable  sand  but  not  having  a  high  water 
level,  kainit  and  other  potash  salts  have  proved  very  profitable  fertilizers 
for  corn." 

The  Indiana  Agricultural  Experiment  Station  has  in  press  a 
new  bulletin  on  "Unproductive  Black  Soils,"  giving  the  results  of 
experimental  work  carried  on  during  the  last  eight  years.  This 
bulletin  corroborates  the  conclusions  given  in  previous  bulletins. 

The  Wisconsin  Agricultural  Experiment  Station  has  published 
a  number  of  bulletins  on  the  drainage  and  treatment  of  the  marsh 
lands  of  Wisconsin.  Among  the  more  recent  publications  are 
Bulletin  139,  "Principles  and  Maintenance  of  Soil  Fertility;" 
Bulletin  146,  "Drainage  Conditions  of  Wisconsin;"  Bulletin  199, 
"The  Principles  and  Practice  of  Land  Drainage ;"  and  Bulletin 
205,  "The  Development  of  Marsh  Soils."  The  authors  of  these 
bulletins  in  summing'  up  their  conclusions  make  the  following 
statements : 

"The  drainage  of  marshes  is  the  first  step  toward  improvement.  On  large 
marshes  the  organization  of  drainage  districts  and  the  co-operation  of  a  num- 
ber of  adjoining  landowners  is  necessary,  but  thousands  of  farms  include  some 
marsh  land  which  can  be  readily  drained  by  the  owners  without  legal  diffi- 
culties. 

"Proper  tillage  of  marsh  lands  is  of  the  utmost  importance.  Heavy  roll- 
ing, by  packing  the  loose  peat  soil,  produces  a  firmer  seed  bed  which  is  better 
adapted  to  cultivated  crops,  especially  small  grains. 

"Fertilization  of  marsh  soils  is  important  on  account  of  the  unbalanced 
condition  of  the  elements  which  they  contain.  Marsh  soils  are  excessively 
rich  in  nitrogen,  but  are  frequently  deficient  in  phosphorus  and  potash.  While 
barnyard  manure  will  supply  the  last  two  elements,  these  can  be  supplied  in 
commercial  fertilizers,  allowing  the  use  of  barnyard  manure  on  upland  soils 
where  its  nitrogen  as  well  as  its  mineral  elements  are  needed.  Under  such 
special  conditions  it  is  profitable  to  use  commercial  fertilizers  supplementing 
the  manure  of  the  farm. 

"Acidity  develops  in  marsh  soils  quite  commonly  where  lime  carbonate  is 
not  brought  in  from,  surrounding  higher  land.  This  acidity,  however,_  does 
not  interfere  with  the  growth  of  crops  provided  the  soil  is  properly  fertilized. 
Very  commonly  acid  soils  require  phosphate  fertilizers  as  well  as  potash.  The 
acidity  of  marsh  soils  in  the  southeastern  part  of  the  state  is  very  generally 
neutralized  by  the  lime  carbonate  in  the  water  seeping  in  from  the  surround- 
ing higher  lands  of  this  limestone  section. 


PEATY  SWAMP  LANDS;    SAND  AND  ALKALI  SOILS  119 

"The  crops  best  adapted  to  marsh  lands  include  corn,  potatoes,  cabbage, 
buckwheat,  and  timothy  and  alsike  clover  for  hay.  When  the  soil  is  thoroughly 
firmed  by  rolling,  small  grains  can  be  grown,  of  which  wheat  and  barley  are 
best,  with  oats  and  rye  second.  Excellent  tame  grass  pastures  can  be  developed 
on  these  marshes  with  proper  care." 

PLANT  FOOD  IN  DIFFERENT  SOILS* 

It  is  true  that  plants  are  composed  very  largely  of  the  elements 
carbon,  hydrogen,  and  oxygen,  that  carbon  and  oxygen  are  ob- 
tained from  the  carbon  dioxid  in  the  air,  and  that  hydrogen  is  one 
of  the  elements  of  which  water  is  formed.  It  is  also  true  that  plants 
must  be  supplied  with  the  elements  sulfur  and  iron,  but  these  two 
elements  are  required  by  plants  in  relatively  small  amounts,  and 
practically  all  soils  are  abundantly  supplied  with  them.  The  other 
five  elements  of  plant  food,  nitrogen,  phosphorus,  potassium,  cal- 
cium, and  magnesium,  are  required  by  plants  in  very  considerable 
amounts,  and  they  may  be  present  in  soils  in  limited  quantities. 

Nitrogen  is  a  constituent  of  organic  matter.  Consequently,  if 
a  soil  is  rich  in  organic  matter  (humus  or  vegetable  matter),  it 
is  also  rich  in  nitrogen;  and  if  a  soil  is  poor  in  organic  matter,  it  is 
also  poor  in  nitrogen.  If  more  nitrogen  is  needed  it  can  best  be 
obtained  by  growing  leguminous  crops,  provided  with  the  proper 
nitrogen-gathering  bacteria,  which  have  power  to  obtain  nitrogen 
from  the  air. 

Phosphorus  is  also  associated  with  organic  matter  to  some  ex- 
tent, so  that  a  soil  very  rich  in  organic  matter  (as  peaty  soils)  is 
not  only  exceedingly  rich  in  nitrogen,  but  it  is  usually  well  sup- 
plied with  phosphorus.  In  the  light-colored  timber  soils,  and  in 
worn  prairie  soils,  phosphorus  is  more  or  less  deficient  in  the  soil. 
It  can  be  supplied  profitably  in  steamed  bone  meal,  and  more 
profitably  in  finely  ground  rock  phosphate,  but  it  should  be  used 
in  connection  with  leguminous  crops  or  farm  manure. 

Potassium  is  commonly  associated  with  clay.  It  is  contained 
in  all  ordinary  Illinois  soils,  as  the  common  prairie  soils,  in  great 
abundance.  Peaty  soils  not  mixed  with  clay  are,  as  a  rule,  very 
deficient  in  potassium.  Sand  soils  also  are  usually  poor  in  avail- 
able potassium,  altho  the  total  supply  may  be  quite  large,  but 
locked  up  in  the  sand  grains.  Sand  soils  are  likewise  commonly 
deficient  in  some  other  elements  of  plant  food,  especially  in  nitro- 
gen. 

Calcium  is  contained  in  all  limestone,  and  dolomitic  limestone, 
which  is  the  abundant  limestone  of  northern  Illinois,  contains 
both  calcium  and  magnesium. 

*For  more  complete  information  regarding  the  different  elements  of  plant 
food  the  reader  is  referred  to  Bulletin  123,  "The  Fertility  in  Illinois  Soils,"  a 
copy  of  which  will  be  sent  upon  request  to  anyone  interested  in  Illinois  agri- 
culture. 


120  BULLETIN  No.  137  [July, 

With  these  facts  in  mind,  it  is  possible  for  the  farmer  to  esti- 
mate with  some  degree  of  accuracy  what  will  be  required  to  in- 
crease  the  productive  capacity  of  the  different  kinds  of  peaty 
swamp  soils,  and  whether  the  treatment  must  be  continued  in- 
definitely, year  after  year,  or  whether  the  soil  is  likely  to  improve 
after  a  few  years. 

GENERAL  INFORMATION  REGARDING  PEATY   SWAMP 

SOILS 

Peaty  s\vamp  soils  may  well  be  separated  arbitrarily  into  five 
fairly  distinct  classes : 

1.  Soils  in  which  the  very  peaty  material  extends  to  a  depth 
of  three  or  four  feet  at  least  and  often  to  much  greater  depths. 

2.  Soils  with  one  to  three  feet  of  .peaty  material  resting  on 
deep  sand. 

3.  Soils  with  one  to  three  feet  of  peaty  material  resting  on 
rock,  usually  with  some  inches  of  sandy  material  between  the  two. 

4.  Soils  with  six  inches  to  three  feet  of  peaty  material  resting 
on  a  clayey  subsoil. 

5.  Soils  with  only  a  few  inches  of  peaty  material  resting  on 
sand. 

If  the  soil  has  one  to  three  feet  of  very  peaty  material  and  this 
is  underlain  with  a  deep  sand  subsoil  or  with  sand  resting  on  rock, 
or  if  the  peaty  soil  itself  is  very  deep  (3  or  4  feet  or  more),  then 
the  land  is  almost  certainly  deficient  in  potassium,  and  the  chief 
part  of  the  potassium  required  to  produce  crops  must  always  be 
supplied,  either  in  the  form  of  commercial  potassium  salts  or  in 
farm  manure,  because  of  the  simple  fact  that  it  cannot  be  furnished 
by  either  the  soil  or  subsoil  in  sufficient  quantities  for  continuous 
large  crops.  As  the  one  to  three  feet  of  peaty  material  is  exceed- 
ingly rich  in  organic  matter,  and  is  much  richer  in  nitrogen,  and 
usually  somewhat  -better  supplied  with  phosphorus,  than  the  most 
fertile  normal  soils  in  the  corn  belt,  that  land  is  not  in  need  of 
either  of  those  elements,  and  probably  it  will  be  unnecessary  to 
grow  clover  or  to  apply  phosphorus  on  such  soils  for  many  years. 
Indeed,  it  seems  altogether  likely  that  the  most  profitable  system 
of  farming  for  such  soils  is  almost  continuous  corn,  unless  some 
rotation  should  become  necessary  because  of  corn  insects.  As  farm 
manure  contains  about  as  much  nitrogen  as  potassium,  and  also 
some  phosphorus,  it  is  better  farm  practice  to  use  farm  manure  on 
sandy  land,  for  example,  which  is  usually  somewhat  deficient  in 
available  potassium,  and  very  greatly  in  need  of  nitrogen  and  or- 
ganic matter,  than  it  is  to  use  the  manure  on  this  peaty  soil  which 
needs  only  potassium.  Ordinary  farm  manure  contains  about  8 


1912}  PEATY  SWAMP  LANDS  ;    SAND  AND  ALKALI  SOILS  121 

pounds  of  potassium  in  a  ton,  and  some  of  this  is  not  very  readily 
available,  excepting  in  such  kinds  as  horse  manure  which  decom- 
pose quickly. 

If  one  has  abundance  of  farm  manure,  and  does  not  need  to 
use  it  all  on  lighter  soils,  of  course  it  should  be  applied  to  the 
peaty  soils  rather  than  not  be  used  at  all;  but  under  the  ordinary 
farm  conditions,  where  the  supply  of  farm  manure  is  very  limited, 
it  is  good  practice  to  purchase  commercial  potassium  for  such  peaty 
lands  as  need  it. 

As  stated  above,  there  are  some  peaty  soils  which  are  underlain 
with  clay  subsoils  lying  from  6  inches  to  three  feet  below  the  sur- 
face. Such  subsoils  almost  invariably  contain  an  abundance  of  po- 
tassium. Some  of  these  are  the  soils  which  will  ultimately  "farm 
out,"  to  use  a  phrase  local  to  the  Kankakee  swamp  region,  which 
means  that  with  continued  farming  the  soil  gradually  improves 
until  it  finally  becomes  a  normally  fertile  soil,  even  without  any 
special  treatment.  The  time  required  for  this  improvement  will 
depend  upon  the  condition  and  method  of  management  of  the  soil. 
The  desired  result  is  usually  accomplished  by  getting  some  of  the 
clayey  subsoil  mixed  with  the  more  peaty  top  soil.  Sometimes 
this  can  be  done  by  deeper  plowing;  sometimes  by  the  tramping 
of  live  stock,  where  the  subsoil  is  near  the  surface.  Some  soils 
of  this  class  are  temporarily  benefited  very  markedly  by  even  light 
applications  of  potassium,  either  in  farm  manure  (preferably  horse 
manure)  or  in  commercial  form.  This  will  furnish  sufficient  po- 
tassium to  give  the  corn  a  start,  and  the  corn  roots  will  thus  be 
enabled  to  grow  sufficiently  to  reach  the  clayey  subsoil  which  will 
then  furnish  an  abundance  of  potassium  for  a  large  crop.  This 
may  last  for  a  year  or  two  only,  when  it  will  be  found  necessary  to 
supply  more  potassium  to  the  top  soil ;  or,  the  one  or  two  years' 
cropping  and  cultivation  may  result  in  the  compacting  of  the  sur- 
face soil,  the  mixing  of  the  clayey  subsoil  with  the  peaty  top  soil, 
or  the  bringing  up  of  sufficient  potassium  from  the  subsoil  into  the 
top  soil  by  the  roots  of  corn  and  weeds  and  the  corn-stalks  (which, 
it  should  be  remembered,  are  quite  rich  in  potassium,  and  which 
are  usually  either  burned  or  plowed  under)  so  that  no  further  ap- 
plication of  potassium  may  be  necessary.  Thus,  the  so-called 
"farming  out"  process  may  be  hastened  very  materially,  and  with 
decided  profit  on  some  soils,  by  applying  potassium  in  some  form, 
especially  where  the  peaty  top  soil  is  too  deep  to  admit  of  reaching 
the  clayey  subsoil  with  the  plow. 

In  its  original  condition  this  type  of  peaty  land  (that  is,  a  peaty 
top  soil  underlain  with  a  clay  subsoil)  contains  an  abundance  of  all 
of  the  elements  of  plant  food ;  but  the  difficulty  is  that  the  nitrogen 
is  nearly  all  in  the  top  soil,  while  the  potassium  is  very  largely  in 


122  BULLETIN  No.  157  [July, 

the  subsoil  (both  soil  and  subsoil  commonly  contain  enough  phos- 
phorus), and  the  chief  problem  with  these  particular  soils  is  to 
bring  these  elements  together  in  the  top  soil  sufficient  for  the  needs 
of  the  growing  crop,  especially  during  its  earlier  growth  before 
its  roots  reach  the  lower  stratum. 

Very  satisfactory  results  have  been  obtained  upon  this  parti- 
cular kind  of  soil,  in  Ford  county,  Illinois,  simply  by  means  of 
very  deep  plowing,  as  on  Mr.  S.  K.  Marston's  farm  in  what  is 
called  "Vermilion  Swamp,"  in  northern  Ford  county.  A  careful 
examination  was  made  by  the  Experiment  Station  of  land  in  this 
swamp  some  years  ago.  The  soil  produced  very  poor  crops  of 
corn,  but  the  clayey  subsoil  was  found  to  be  within  the  reach  of 
the  plow,  and  it  wras  then  agreed  with  Mr.  Marston  that  a  trial  of 
deep  plowing  should  be  made,  and  the  result  has  been  very  suc- 
cessful, as  will  be  seen  from  the  following  extracts  from  a  letter 
received  from  Mr.  Marston : 

"ONARGA,  ILL.,  October  31,  1903. 
"DR.  C.  G.  HOPKINS, 

"DEAR  SIR  : 

"I  went  to  my  farm  yesterday  to  ascertain  the  effect  of  the  fertilizers  that 
I  had  used.  My  tenant  says  he  can  see  no  perceptible  effect.  But  I  can  say 
that  deep  plowing  has  done  the  business.  I  saw  yesterday  some  of  the  finest, 
soundest,  heaviest  corn  I  ever  saw,  and  the  yield  sixty  bushels  to  the  acre. 

My  tenant  is  a  thorough  convert  to  deep  plowing.  His  plowing  this  year 
is  nearly  a  foot  deep.  We  have  decided  that  the  soil  contains  all  necessary 
constituents.  Deep  plowing  seems  to  be  a  great  success. 

"Respectfully, 

"S.  K.  MARSTON." 

There  is  still  another  kind  of  peaty  swamp  land  which  must  be 
mentioned.  This  is  land  whose  soil  consists  of  only  a  few  inches 
of  peaty  material,  which  is  underlain  by  sand  to  a  depth  of  several 
feet.  We  have  found  quite  extensive  areas  of  this  type  of  soil, 
especially  in  the  southeastern  part  of  Kankakee  county.  The  sandy 
subsoil  will  usually  furnish  somewhat  more  available  potassium 
than  the  peaty  material,  and  the  sand,  being  near  the  surface,  be- 
comes mixed  with  the  peaty  material  by  plowing  and  cultivation, 
so  that  this  soil  may  produce  fair  crops  for  a  few  years.  But  after 
the  rather  small  amount  of  organic  matter  becomes  reduced  by 
cultivation,  this  type  of  soil  is  but  little  different  from  ordinary 
sand  soil,  which  is  usually  very  poor  in  nitrogen  and  rather  low 
in  all  elements  of  plant  food.  If  the  sand  contains  some  clay, 
which  is  quite  frequently  the  case,  it  will  be  better  supplied  with 
potassium  than  with  the  other  elements.  As  a  rule  it  is  deficient 
in  available  potassium,  and  after  a  few  years  of  cropping  it  also 
becomes  deficient  in  nitrogen. 

It  will  be  of  interest  and  value  even  to  farmers  who  may  have 
such  very  sandy  swamp  soils  to  know  of  the  results  which  have 


1912}  PEATY  SWAMP  LANDS;    SAND  AND  ALKALI  SOILS  123 

been  obtained  from  our  "complete  fertility  tests"  on  the  sand  ridge 
soil  in  Tazewell  county,  a  type  of  soil  which  is  more  deficient  in 
nitrogen. 


This  is  one  of  the  regular  University  of  Illinois  soil  experiment 
fields.  It  is  located  in  the  S.  W.  10  of  N.  W.  40,  of  N.  W.  X  of 
Section  3,  Township  22  N.,  Range  5  W.  of  3rd  P.  M.,  about  two 
miles  southwest  of  Green  Valley,  Tazewell  county,  Illinois,  on  the 
farm  of  Mr.  J.  C.  Drake.  The  soil  is  typical  of  the  cultivated  sand 
ridge  soil,  and  fairly  represents  very  large  areas  of  sandy  land,  not 
only  in  Tazewell'  and  Mason  counties,  but  also  in  Whiteside  and 
adjoining  counties,  Kankakee  and  adjoining  counties,  and  in 
smaller  areas  in  many  other  parts  of  Illinois. 

In  composition  this  soil  averages  about  1400  pounds  of  nitro- 
gen, 800  of  phosphorus,  and  31,000  pounds  of  potassium  in  the 
surface  6^3  inches  (2l/2  million  pounds).  The  high  percentage 
of  potassium  shows  that  this  soil  is  not  a  pure  quartz  sand,  but 
is  to  a  considerable  extent  of  granitic  origin.  In  composition  this 
soil  is  extremely  poor  in  nitrogen,  rich  in  potassium,  and  fairly 
well  supplied  with  phosphorus,  if  we  consider  its  very  porous 
character  and  the  very  deep  feeding  range  afforded  to  plant  roots. 

This  field  was  broken  out  of  pasture  in  1902.  In  Table  7  are 
reported  all  results  secured  in  the  six  years  1902  to  1907  from 
that  part  of  the  Green  Valley  field  where  the  nitrogen  as  well  as 
the  other  elements  were  supplied  in  commercial  form.  (This  ex- 
perimental field  was  conducted  on  leased  land  and  this  work  was 
discontinued  after  six  years.) 

Plots  i  (especially)  and  2  in  this  series  were  naturally  more 
productive  than  the  other  plots,  it  being  the  regular  custom  of  the 
Experiment  Station  to  use  the  most  productive  land  for  the  un- 
treated check  plots  if  any  such  differences  are  apparent  when  the 
field  is  established,  as  was  the  case  in  this  instance.  Plot  i  serves 
only  as  a  check  against  the  lime  treatment,  and  the  average  of 
Plots  2,  4,  5,  and  8  gives  a  more  reliable  basis  of  comparison  for 
ascertaining  the  effect  of  nitrogen. 

A  four-year  rotation  of  corn,  corn,  oats,  and  wheat  was  prac- 
ticed on  this  part  of  the  Green  Valley  field,  and  at  the  end  of  six 
years  we  are  at  the  middle  of  the  second  rotation. 

To  facilitate  summarizing  the  six  years'  results  the  total  value 
of  the  six  crops  from  each  plot  is  shown  in  the  last  column,  and 
at  the  bottom  of  the  table  are  shown  the  average  increase  in  yield 
for  each  year  and  the  total  value  of  the  six  years'  increase  ( i )  for 
nitrogen  under  the  four  conditions,  (2)  for  phosphorus  in  addition 
to  nitrogen  (2  tests  each  year),  and  (3)  for  potassium  in  addition 


124  BULLETIN  No.  157  [July, 

TABI,E  7. — CROP  YIEL.DS  IN  Soil,  EXPERIMENTS,  GREEN  VALLEY  FIEU> 


Soil 
plot 
No. 

Sand  ridge  soil 

Grain,  bushels  per  acre 

Total 
value 
of  crops 
for  6 
years 

Treatment  applied 

1902 
Corn 

1903 
Corn 

1904 
Oats 

1905 
Wheat 

1906 
Corn 

1907 
Corn 

1 

2 

None  

68.7 
68.2 

56.3 
42.0 

49.7 
35.9 

18.3 
19.0 

32.9 
17.8 

35.3 
29.5 

$  92.86 
77.41 

Lyime  

3 
4 
5 

6 

7 
8 

68.6 
30.3 
23.1 

65.4 
24.9 
20.1 

44.4 
20.3 
16.9 

23.5 
16.7 
16.5 

62.9 
10.4 
8.4 

58.9 
13.1 
12.8 

117.08 
44.32 
38.32 

L/ime,  potassium  

L/ime,  nitrogen, 
phosphorus  

57.4 
70.0 
49.8 

69.8 
72.9 
39.6 

51.9 
54.7 
36.9 

26.8 
36.5 
13.7 

70.8 
74.8 
18.3 

64.7 
73.6 

27.7 

123.69 
141.19 
66.21 

L/ime,  nitrogen,  potas- 
sium   

L/ime,  phosphorus, 

9 

10 

L/ime,  nitrogen, 
phosphorus,  potassium 
Nitrogen,  phosphorus, 

69.5 

57.2 

69.8 
66.1 

47.8 
50.0 

36.2 
26.5 

66.4 
66.0 

73.6 
71.9 

135.05 
122.47 

Average     gain      for     nitro- 

23.5 
6.8 
—5.9 

37.8 
3.8 

.7 

22.3 
3.1 
.3 

14.3 
11.2 
1.5 

55.0 

3.8 
—3. 

46.9 
11.8 
2.9 

72.71 
17.79 

.22 

& 
Ave 
sii 
Ave 
ph 

rage    gain    for      potas- 

rage      gain     for     phos- 
orus  over  nitrogen  

to  nitrogen  (2  tests  each  year).  Nitrogen  is  so  clearly  the  limit- 
ing element  that  the  only  question  regarding  phosphorus  and  po- 
tassium is,  will  either  of  them  effect  a  further  increase  after 
nitrogen  has  been  applied. 

As  an  average  of  four  tests  covering  six  years,  the  addition  of 
nitrogen  to  this  sand  soil  has  produced  increases  valued  at  $72.71 
an  acre,  averaging  $12.12  a  year,  at  a  cost  of  $15.00  a  year  for 
100  pounds  of  nitrogen  in  dried  blood.  In  one  instance  the  in- 
crease produced  has  actually  exceeded  in  value  the  cost  of  the 
nitrogen  applied,  if  we  disregard  the  cost  and  effect  of  the  potas- 
sium. Thus,  the  total  value  of  the  six  crops  from  Plot  5,  treated 
with  lime  and  potassium,  is  $38.32,  while  $141.19  is  the  corre- 
sponding value  for  Plot  7,  which  differs  from  Plot  5  only  by  the 
addition  of  nitrogen.  Under  these  conditions  600  pounds-  of 
nitrogen  costing  only  $90.00  have  produced  an  increase  of  $102.87 
per  acre  in  six  years. 

So  far  as  we  have  discovered  this  is  the  only  instance  where 
the  use  of  commercial  nitrogen  has  paid  its  cost  in  the  production 
of  ordinary  farm  crops  in  Illinois,  and  even  here  we  must  not 
overlook  the  fact  that  $15  worth  of  potassium  was  associated  with 


/9/<?]  PEATY  SWAMP  LANDS;    SAND  AND  ALKALI  SOILS  125 

the  $90.00  worth  of  nitrogen  where  this  enormous  increase  was 
produced.  While  potassium  without  nitrogen  produces  no  benefit 
on  this  sand  soil,  when  applied  with  nitrogen  the  potassium  has 
produced  an  average  increase  valued  at  $17.79  Per  acre  m  s^x 
years  at  a  cost  of  $15.00,  but  in  this  case  the  influence  and  cost 
of  the  associated  nitrogen  must  not  be  ignored.  In  no  case  has 
the  total  increase  paid  for  the  combined  cost  of  the  elements  in- 
volved with  nitrogen  as  one  of  them. 

Potassium  is  evidently  the  second  limiting  element  in  this  soil 
where  decaying  organic  matter  is  not  provided,  but  the  limit  of 
potassium  is  very  far  above  the  nitrogen  limit. 

During  the  six  years  Plot  7,  receiving  nitrogen  and  potassium, 
produced  291.3  bushels  of  corn  (averaging  72.5  bushels  a  year), 
54.7  bushels  of  oats,  and  36.5  bushels  of  wheat,  per  acre.  To  pro- 
duce the  increase  of  Plot  7  over  Plot  5  would  require  about  75 
percent  of  the  total  nitrogen  applied.  Thus,  there  has  been  a  loss 
of  25  percent  of  the  nitrogen  applied,  which  is  a  smaller  loss  than 
usually  occurs  where  commercial  nitrogen  is  used.  Without  doubt 
larger  yields  would  have  been  produced,  especially  of  corn,  if  150 
or  200  pounds  of  nitrogen  per  acre  per  annum  had  been  used, 
which  would  have  increased  the  cost  of  nitrogen  to  $22.50  or 
$30.00,  respectively,  per  acre  each  year. 

It  need  scarcely  be  mentioned  that  commercial  nitrogen  is  used 
in  these  and  other  experiments  in  Illinois  only  to  help  discover 
what  elements  are  limiting  the  crop  yields.  It  should  never  be  pur- 
chased for  use  in  general  farming,  but,  if  needed,  secured  from 
the  atmosphere  by  legume  crops  to  be  returned  to  the  soil  directly 
or  in  manure. 

It  is  interesting  to  note  that  on  the  sand  soil  the  six  years'  in- 
crease from  $15.00  worth  of  phosphorus  (even  when  applied  with 
nitrogen)  is  valued  at  only  22  cents. 

On  three  other  series  of  plots  on  the  Green  Valley  soil  experi- 
ment field  a  three-year  rotation  of  corn,  oats,  and  cowpeas  was 
practiced,  every  crop  being  represented  every  year.  On  plots  re- 
ceiving lime  and  phosphorus  and  legume  crops  as  green  manure, 
the  yield  of  corn  was  45.6  bushels  in  1906  and  67.8  bushels  in 
1907,  compared  with  70.8  bushels  and  64.7  bushels  with  lime, 
phosphorus,  and  nitrogen  on  Plot  6  (see  Table  7),  and  with  10.4 
bushels  and  13.1  bushels  with  no  nitrogen  on  Plot  4,  for  the  re- 
spective years.  On  other  plots  receiving  comparable  treatment, 
where  lime,  phosphorus,  and  potassium  were  used  with  nitrogen- 
gathering  legume  crops  as  green  manure,  the  corn  yields  in  the 
three-year  rotation  were  54.6  bushels  in  1906  and  51.5  bushels  in 
1907,  compared  with  66.4  bushels  and  73.6  bushels  on  Plot  9  with 
nitrogen  applied,  and  compared  with  18.3  bushels  and  27.7  bushels 
on  Plot  8  with  no  nitrogen  for  the  same  years. 


126  BULLETIN  No.  157  [July, 

The  growing  of  legume  crops  and  the  use  of  farm  manure 
(and  possibly  limestone)  are  the  only  recommendations  made  for 
the  improvement  of  these  well-drained  sand  ridge  soils,  altho 
further  tests  may  show  profit  from  potassium  until  more  organic 
matter  is  supplied.  As  a  rule  clover  cannot  be  grown  successfully 
on  this  land,  except  in  very  favorable  seasons,  but  cowpeas  and 
soybeans  are  well  adapted  to  such  soil  and  they  produce  very  large 
yields  of  excellent  hay  or  of  grain  very  valuable  for  feed  and  also 
for  seed. 

Under  the  best  conditions,  with  good  preparation  and  heavy 
manuring,  alfalfa  can  be  grown  on  this  sand  soil,  more  than  five 
tons  of  alfalfa  hay  per  acre  in  one  year  having  been  grown  on 
part  of  the  Green  Valley  field.  Both  soybeans  and  alfalfa  should 
be  inoculated  with  the  proper  nitrogen-fixing  bacteria.  (See  Plate 

70 

Heavy  applications  of  ground  limestone  also  may  be  especially 

beneficial  in  getting  alfalfa  started. 

For  more  detailed  information  the  reader  is  referred  to  Bulle- 
tin 76,  "Alfalfa  on  Illinois  Soil,"  Bulletin  94,  "Nitrogen  Bacteria 
and  Legumes,"  and  Circular  no,  "Ground  Limestone  for  Acid 
Soils." 


From  the  results  given  in  the  preceding  pages,  the  fact  will  be 
appreciated  that  the  element  potassium  is  a  commodity  of  value, 
especially  for  the  farmer  who  has  to  deal  with  peaty  swamp  soils. 
The  commercial  value  of  potassium  is  about  6  cents  a  pound  for 
the  element  in  soluble  form.  There  are  three  common  forms  of 
potassium  on  the  market :  potassium  chlorid,  which  contains  about 
42  percent  of  potassium ;  potassium  sulfate,  also  containing  42  per- 
cent of  potassium;  and  kainit,  a  crude  mineral,  containing  only  10 
percent  of  potassium.  Potassium  chlorid  is  frequently,  but  very 
incorrectly,  called  "muriate  of  potash."  Potassium  chlorid  contains 
the  two  elements  potassium  and  chlorin,  as  the  name  indicates. 
The  word  "muriate"  has  no  meaning  except  that  the  ending  ate 
indicates  that  the  compound  contains  oxygen,  which  is  not  the  case. 
"Potash"  is  a  compound  of  potassium  'and  oxygen,  which  is  not 
contained  in  potassium  chlorid.  It  is  certainly  better  for  the 
farmer  to  say  potassium  and  potassium  chlorid  and  be  correct  and 
intelligent  about  it  tharl  to  say  "potash"  and  "muriate  of  potash," 
and  be  confused  and  ignorant  as  to  the  nature  of  the  compound. 

It  should  be  understood  that  the  law  of  Ilinois  requires  that 
every  bag  of  potassium  fertilizer  sold  in  the  state  shall  bear  a 
printed  label  stating  the  percentage  of  the  element  potassium  which 


1912] 


PEATY  SWAMP  LANDS;    SAND  AND  ALKALI  SOILS 


127 


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128  BULLETIN  No.  157  [July, 

the  material  contains,  as  well  as  the  total  number  of  pounds  of 
material  contained  in  the  bag. 

If  a  bag  is  marked  "200  pounds"  and  the  label  "42  to  44  per- 
cent potassium,"  this  means  that  the  200  pounds  of  material  con- 
tains about  42  percent  (or  42  pounds  in  100  pounds)  of  the  element 
potassium,  which  would  make  84  pounds  of  potassium  in  the  bag, 
or  840  pounds  in  a  ton,  which,  at  6  cents  a  pound,  would  make  the 
salt  worth  $50.40  a  ton. 

If  the  bag  is  marked  "200  pounds"  and  the  label  "10  to  n 
percent  potassium,"  this  means  that  the  bag  contains  20  pounds  of 
the  element  potassium,  which  would  make  200  pounds  of  potassium 
in  a  ton.  At  6  cents  a  pound  for  potassium,  this  material  would 
be  worth  $12  a  ton. 

It  is  true  that  fertilizer  dealers  frequently  print  on  the  bag  the 
equivalent  percentages  of  "potash,"  "muriate  of  potash,"  "sulfate 
of  potash,"  etc.,  the  chief  effect  of  which  is  to  make  "big  figures" 
and  confuse  the  purchaser,  but  any  farmer  can  understand  the 
matter  of  buying  potassium  if  he  will  look  for  the  percentage  of 
potassium.  Tl  is  is  the  number  of  pounds  of  potassium  contained 
in  100  pounds  of  the  material.  A  ton  would  contain  20  times  as 
much  potassium,  and  this  is  worth  about  6  cents  a  pound  in  Chi- 
cago. 

When  we  remerhber  that  a  hundred-bushel  crop  of  corn  con- 
tains 73  pounds  of  potassium  (19  in  the  grain,  2  in  the  cob,  and 
52  in  the  stover)  besides  that  contained  in  the  roots,  it  will  be 
seen  that  200  pounds  of  potassium  chlorid  (84  pounds  of  the 
element)  will  be  barely  sufficient  for  the  first  crop.  If,  however, 
only  the  ear  corn  is  removed  from  the  land,  the  stalks  being 
pastured  and  plowed  under,  only  21  pounds  of  potassium  are 
actually  removed  from  the  soil  each  year,  even  with  a  very  large 
crop,  the  larger  part  of  the  potassium  being  thus  left  for  the  bene- 
fit of  succeeding  crops.  Of  course  the  potassium  in  the  stalks  is 
much  less  readily  available  than  that  in  potassium  chlorid.  Never- 
theless, as  the  stalks  decay,  the  potassium  will  gradually  become 
available.  If  the  stalks  are  burned,  the  potassium  remains  in  the 
ashes,  but  usually  these  are  left  in  windrows,  and  consequently  not 
well  distributed  for  the  next  crop. 

Farm  manure  contains  about  8  pounds  of  potassium  in  a  ton, 
but  most  farm  manure  decays  slowly,  a  fact  which  is  evidenced  by 
the  lasting  effect  of  manure,  its  value  being  commonly  greater  for 
the  second  crop  than  for  the  first  after  its  application,  while  many 
succeeding  crops  may  show  its  effect.  Horse  manure  decays  much 
more  quickly  than  cattle  manure,  and  consequently  the  potassium 
in  horse  manure  is  quite  readily  available.  The  potassium  in  ordi- 
nary manure  and  in  corn  stalks  is  probably  not  worth  less  than 


PEATY  SWAMP  LANDS;    SAND  AND  ALKALI  SOILS  129 

5  cents  a  pound,  as  compared  with  6  cents  a  pound  for  soluble 
potassium.  On  this  basis,  for  use  on  peaty  swamp  soils,  rich  in 
organic  matter,  nitrogen,  and  phosphorus,  ordinary  farm  manure 
is  worth  about  40  cents  a  ton  when  potassium  chlorid  is  worth  $50 
a  ton.  It  should  not  be  forgotten  that  one  ton  of  potassium  chlo- 
rid contains  as  much  potassium  as  100  tons  of  average  fresh  farm 
manure.  Manure  would  be  worth  only  48  cents  a  ton  for  potas- 
sium if  the  potassium  were  all  readily  available. 

It  is  certain  that  if  we  are  raising  corn  on  peaty  swamp  soil, 
rich  in  everything  except  potassium,  and  if  less  than  one-third  of 
the  potassium  absolutely  required  to  make  a  crop  is  actually  re- 
moved in  the  ear  corn,  it  is  very  unscientific  and  very  poor  farm 
practice  to  be  stingy  with  the  potassium  which  we  supply.  On 
such  soils  as  those  on  which  our  experiment  fields  are  located  at 
Tampico,  Momence,  and  Manito,  not  less  than  200  pounds  of  po- 
tassium chlorid  per  annum  should  be  applied  for  the  first  one  or 
two  years.  After  that,  if  the  stalks  are  not  removed  from  the 
land,  probably  ico  pounds  a  year  will  be  sufficient,  and  perhaps 
this  can  finally  be  reduced  to  50  pounds  a  year,  as  this  would  fur- 
nish 21  pounds  of  potassium  a  year,  which  is  as  much  as  would  be 
removed  in  one  hundred  bushels  of  ear  corn. 

It  is  well  known  that  in  ordinary  soils  potassium  applied  in 
soluble  form  is  not  lost  by  leaching,  and  it  is  evident  from  the  ex- 
periments reported  in  this  bulletin,  especially  those  on  the  Manito 
fields,  that  peaty  soil  also  has  some  power  to  fix  and  hold  potas- 
sium from  one  year  to  another,  even  during  seasons  of  abundant 
rainfall. 

METHODS  OF  APPLYING  POTASSIUM  SALTS  TO  THE 

LAND 

Potassium  salts  should  be  applied  in  the  spring,  preferably  one 
or  two  weeks  before  the  corn  is  planted.  The  material  should 
never  be  applied  in  the  hill  with  corn,  for  the  reason  that  it  may 
destroy  the  germinating  power  of  the  seed  or  injure  the  young 
plant,  and  also  because  the  roots  of  the  corn  plant  do  not  stay  in 
the  hill,  but  they  grow  out  thru  the  soil  in  all  directions,  absorb- 
ing moisture  and  plant  food.  Corn  fertilized  in  the  hill,  if  the 
seed  or  young  plants  are  not  injured,  frequently  makes  an  abnorm- 
ally strong  growth  for  a  few  weeks,  and  later  in  the  season  suffers 
from  dry  weather  more  than  ordinary  corn,  whose  roots  have 
developed  more  normally. 

Potassium  or  other  fertilizing  material  should  be  applied  broad- 
cast or  in  narrow  drills,  as  a  general  rule.  Any  salt  of  potassium 
may  be  applied  easily  and  quickly  by  hand,  sowing  or  scattering 


130  BULLETIN  No.  157  [July, 

it  from  the  wagon.  One  farmer  in  Whiteside  county  reports  hav- 
ing applied  by  hand  100  pounds  to  the  acre  over  22  acres  of  land 
in  less  than  three-quarters  of  a  day,  a  boy  being  provided  to  drive 
the  team.  Sowing  potassium  chlorid  by  hand  is  less  difficult  than 
sowing  wheat  or  oats  by  hand,  because  of  the  necessity  of  securing 
a  uniform  stand  of  wheat  or  oats,  while  it  would  matter  but  little 
if  there  should  be  a  few  square  feet  now  and  then  which  received 
no  potassium.  It  passes  into  solution  before  it  becomes  fixed  in 
the  soil  and  will  thus  be  distributed  somewhat,  and  the  subsequent 
preparation  of  the  seed  bed  and  the  cultivation  of  the  corn  will 
tend  to  mix  it  more  uniformly  with  the  soil. 

An  end  gate  seeder  is  a  very  good  implement  for  applying  po- 
tassium salts.  Probably  most  farmers  could  apply  the  material 
about  as  rapidly  and  more  uniformly  with  an  end  gate  seeder  than 
by  hand,  but  it  must  be  fed  into  the  end  gate  seeder  almost  con- 
tinuously, and  in  no  larger  amount  than  is  necessary  to  keep  the 
seeder  working  properly.  (The  hopper  should  never  contain  more 
than  a  few  handfuls.) 

It  is  good  practice  to  apply  the  potassium  and  mix  it  with  the 
soil  by  disking,  before  plowing,  altho  fairly  good  results  are  se- 
cured if  it  is  applied  after  plowing  and  mixed  with  the  soil  in  the 
usual  preparation  of  the  seed  bed.  It  should  not  be  applied  when 
the  ground  is  frozen  if  there  is  likely  to  be  any  overflow  or  sur- 
face drainage  before  the  potassium  salt  dissolves  and  soaks  into- 
the  soil. 

"ALKALI"  SOILS 

It  should  be  understood  that  the  peaty  swamp  soils  reported  in 
this  bulletin  are  not  the  same  as  the  so-called  "alkali"  or  "bogus" 
soils  of  the  common  heavy  loam  types.  These  "alkali"  spots  are 
very  numerous  in  central  and  northern  Illinois.  They  usually  oc- 
cur in  the  midst  of  the  very  best  farming  lands.  They  vary  in 
size  from  a  few  square  rods  to  several  acres. 

The  most  common  kind  of  so-called  "alkali"  spot  which  we 
have  found  does  contain  alkali,  and  the  soil  is  not  improperly  called 
alkali  soil.  The  alkali,  however,  is  not  sodium  carbonate,  the  or- 
dinary strong  alkali  of  the  soils  of  arid  countries,  but  it  is  mag- 
nesium carbonate,  a  mild  alkali.  The  magnesium  carbonate  is 
usually  associated  with  much  larger  quantities  of  calcium  carbon- 
ate (limestone  is  calcium  carbonate).  Altho  magnesium  is  one  of 
the  essential  elements  of  plant  food,  yet  an  excessive  amount  of 
magnesium  carbonate  and  bicarbonate  becomes  poisonous  to  plants, 
especially  to  corn  and  millet. 

Usually  the  magnesium  carbonate  is  more  concentrated  in  the 
subsoil  than  in  the  surface,  and  if  we  can  provide  perfect  under- 


1<)12\  PEATY  SWAMP  LANDS;    SAND  AND  ALKALI  SOILS  131 

drainage  and  prevent  so  far  as  possible  the  magnesium  carbonate 
and  more  soluble  bicarbonate  from  rising  to  the  surface,  and  also 
provide  abundance  of  plant  food  in  the  surface  soil  so  that  the 
corn  roots  are  not  required  to  live  in  the  subsoil,  these  alkali  soils 
can  be  made  to  grow  good  corn.  In  some  cases  applications  of 
potassium  salts  may  prove  beneficial,  but  as  a  rule  the  most  prac- 
tical method  for  improving  these  soils  is  to  provide  good,  deep 
underdrainage  and  then  plow  under  organic  matter,  such  as  straw,, 
farm  manure,  green  oats,  weeds,  etc.  This  material  helps  the- 
drainage,  tends  to  prevent  the  rise  of  the  alkali  by  retarding  sur- 
face evaporation,  and  as  it  decays  it  liberates  plant  food  in  the 
surface  soil,  and  it  may  be  that  organic  acids  are  also  liberated 
which  unite  with  the  magnesium  to  form  less  harmful  compounds. 

We  have  already  ascertained  that  the  magnesium  can  be  re- 
moved from  the  soil  by  leaching  or  drainage  after  being  trans- 
formed into  the  perfectly  soluble  magnesium  sulfate  by  the  double 
decomposition  of  magnesium  carbonate  and  calcium  sulfate,  leav- 
ing behind  harmless  calcium  carbonate  (limestone),  but  whether 
the  quantity  and  cost  of  calcium  sulfate  (gypsum,  or  land  plaster) 
and  the  time  required  for  the  leaching  process  will  prove  to  be  too. 
great  to  permit  this  to  be  done  economically  is  not  yet  determined. 

If  no  manure  or  other  material  is  at  hand,  it  is  well  to  sow 
oats  on  these  spots,  and  if  they  grow  rank  and  fall  down  plow 
them  under.  One  or  two  heavy  crops  of  green  oats  plowed  under 
will  usually  put  the  soil  in  condition  to  grow  one  or  more  crops 
of  corn,  and  with  perfect  drainage  these  soils  will  usually  improve 
with  heavy  cropping,  for  they  are  frequently  very  rich  in  all  ele- 
ments of  plant  food.  Plenty  of  tile,  laid  deep  and  made  to  work 
(if  necessary  by  surrounding  them  with  straw,  corn  cobs,  brush,. 
etc.)  is  all  that  some  of  these  "alkali"  spots  need  to  make  them* 
grow  good  corn. 


> 


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1 


UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS-URBANA 

Q.630.7IL6B  C001 

BULLETIN.  URBANA 
153-1651912-13 


30112019528428 


